


There's no riesilng to worry...

by Goose_Goddess



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 17:17:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5425310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goose_Goddess/pseuds/Goose_Goddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my *LATE* entry for the December 13th AUIdeas Advent Calendar. Here's the prompt:</p><p>The Spirit at the Bottom of the Bottle AU<br/>Character A has a drinking problem, but it’s not because they are an alcoholic. Character A is a ghost hunter and the easiest and cheapest place to store a spirit just happens to be in a wine bottle to be recorked and stored in secret - this can lead to some strange looks from the local Liquor Store after piling tens of bottles into their cart on a single night.</p><p>Forgive the pun in the title....I couldn't resist</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's no riesilng to worry...

Arthur walked down the aisle of the small wine shop, trying to find a reasonably priced bottle of red wine to serve with dinner that night. He needed to find something decent enough to keep Morgana happy, but not expensive enough to get his dad lecturing him about waste and responsibility. He definitely had to tell Merlin that when Morgana called to set up family dinners, from now on Arthur was always too busy. 

He found a bottle that looked like it would meet the requirements and headed towards the front of the store, and froze. Merlin was at the cashier, buying ten bottles of wine. He frowned, staring at the dark haired man. Who on earth bought ten bottles of wine? And it appeared to be very cheap wine at that. 

He walked up behind his secretary. “Merlin, are you having a party?”

Merlin jumped, and spun to glare at his boss. “Ah.. Yes?”

Arthur raised his eyebrow. “Don’t you know if you are having a party?”

Merlin flailed briefly. “Yes. I am. A party. Having several friends over. Right.”

“I see.” Arthur nodded. “And you’re serving cheap wine?”

Merlin nodded. “They drink a lot.”

The cashier handed Merlin a box filled with his purchase, and the man fled the store leaving a bemused Arthur behind.

Two weeks later, Arthur stopped in the same wine shop to pick up a bottle of brandy that Morgana had requested. Merlin was there again, buying another box of wine bottles. And the week after that, Arthur stopped in, not even sure why, and spotted Merlin again. 

Arthur started to wonder if the man had a drinking problem. He never talked about having parties. Who was drinking all that wine? He never missed work, so if he was getting drunk he at least wasn’t hungover in the morning. But why else would he buy that much wine? 

Two more weeks. And two more visits to the wine shop. And two more spotting of Merlin buying a ridiculous amount of wine.

Arthur decided he needed to do something. After Merlin left the shop, he asked the cashier about the man who had just left with the box of wine. He tried to do it casually, making it seem like he was just mildly curious. The cashier just laughed.

“Oh that bloke. He’s in here every Friday. He says he serves wine in his spa. You know, relax while you get your hair or nails done and have a glass of wine. He buys the inexpensive stuff because he goes through so much every week.”

Arthur frowned. “Makes sense.” He smiled and paid for his purchase, a random bottle he’d grabbed off the shelf. Then he headed out the door. He grabbed his phone and checked for Merlin’s address. It turned out to be not too far from where the wine shop was. 

He walked over to the flat, and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, Merlin opened the door, smiling broadly.

“Arthur?” Merlin’s smile faltered. “Did I forget a meeting?” He glanced at his watch. 

Arthur shook his head, suddenly feeling rather ridiculous. Was it really any of his business how much Merlin drank? It was one thing if it was affecting his performance at work, but he was excellent at his job.

“Ah… No. I just, was… I was in the area and saw you in the wine shop.” He held up his bottle of whatever it was he had purchased. Ah. Port. “I thought I’d stop by and say hi.”

Merlin paled. “You saw me at the wine shop?” 

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Yes, that’s what I said. You seemed to be stocking up for a party. Same bunch as last time?”

Merlin looked down at the floor for a minute, then opened the door wider. “Look, it’s not what you think. Why don’t you come in and I’ll try and explain.”

Arthur followed Merlin into a small, rather messy flat. The sitting room had floor to ceiling bookcases. However, the shelves were full of wine bottles. Each had a neatly typed index card on it. 

Arthur walked up to the nearest shelf and glanced at the bottles. “Matthew Owens. 14/12/2014. 2438 Lawrence.” Each one had a name, date, and address.

“What are these?” Arthur asked.

“Spirits.” Merlin sighed. 

Arthur turned to glare at the other man. “What are you on about Merlin?”

Merlin collapsed onto the sofa and buried his face in his hands. “I can see spirits. Most aren’t a problem, or just wander around looking at things. Every so often though, you run into a really nasty one. I catch them. It just turns out that Wine bottles, the kind with corks, work really well for containing them. The bottles are strong enough that they can’t easily get out. And they’re unremarkable if I walk around with them. We’ve had a huge influx just recently of really angry spirits, and I had to step up my bottle purchases. I usually just pour the wine down the sink.” Merlin waved at the kitchen area.

Arthur glanced over to see several open wine bottles next to the sink. He walked over to look. The sink was faintly red, and smelled of cheap wine.

“You catch spirits.” Arthur stated. 

Merlin nodded.

“In your free time.” 

Merlin nodded again.

“Why?” Arthur returned to the living room and sat down in the chair across from Merlin. 

“They can be very dangerous. Most of the spirits I deal with are causing trouble for people. For example, tomorrow I have to go help a family who have been driven out of their house. It started out as creepy noises, and escalated to thrown plates. Now anyone who goes into the house gets attacked by flying knives. If I don’t help them, they’ll have lost their home.”

Arthur just shook his head. “I think I might have preferred if you were just a drunk.”

Merlin grinned. “Well, sorry to disappoint you.”


End file.
